The present invention relates to a clamping arrangement for filter elements consisting of elements or mats of stainless steel fibers utilized especially as temperature-resistant filter stages in the ducts of pressure relief systems of safety containments nuclear power plants.
The ducts of such pressure relief systems include, among other structures, water droplet separators and a number of filter stages which are capable of withstanding high temperatures and which have a high separation efficiency, which are further simple in design and capable of withstanding certain given pressures. For this purpose stainless steel fiber elements consisting of one or a plurality of stainless steel mates disposed in series are utilized which are mounted at their edges. For good support, appropriate mounting along the edges of such mats is essential.
The arrangement of stainless steel filtering structures in the ducts of safety containment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,803 also assigned to the assignee of the present application and the content of this U.S. application is incorporated, by reference, in the present specification.
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a mounting or clamping arrangement for the stainless steel fiber filter elements wherein any leakage flow even along the edges of the filter elements will be contained within the duct.